The UK Renewable Heating Incentive (RHI) for Households, including assistance for solar thermal, has been announced since 2010 despite the non-household version being launched late in 2011. Positive signs indicate this will now be ready before summer 2014, as the UK government recently passed the relevant draft statutory instrument. This is the result of the consultation process which start in September 2013 based on a proposal of Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC).
In 2009 The Scottish Government instigated the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES). This originally provided funding for renewable projects including solar thermal projects when they were associated with not-for-profit communities. In March 2011 this scheme underwent a change due to the conditions that applied to the national renewable energy tariffs especially the Renewable Heat Incentive and the Feed-In tariff. Essentially now the decision for the communities became either to accept only a grant from CARES without the tariffs or find the capital funding without a grant and enjoy a long-term return from the tariffs. So the result became that only very few projects wanted to miss out on the tariffs and solar thermal applications are no longer benefitting much under the main CARES scheme. Although solar thermal had been reasonably popular in the first phase of the CARES scheme with solar thermal systems completed up to 2011 such as in schools and community centres, 2012 saw no applications for solar thermal plants within the new scheme.
For over a year, the UK government has been heavily promoting the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). But by end of August 2012, only a tiny amount has been paid out for solar thermal: just Great Britain Pound (GBP) 60 (approx EUR 70). So why is solar thermal badly lagging in the UK’s flagship incentive for renewable heat?
In this interview, Howard Johns, from Southern Solar, speaks about the UK Solar Trade Association and the different grant schemes in the UK like the renewable heat incentive, the green deal, among other.
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The UK solar thermal industry has had several months notice that the new Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) was arriving. On the 28th November 2011 this was finally announced (see www.solarthermalworld.org/node/3191) and the industry has now had time to give its reactions, especially since the PV tariffs have almost been halved since 12 December 2011. So now solar thermal has two benefits; lower PV tariffs and a feed-in tariff for solar thermal kilowatt hours of Pound Sterling (GBP) 0.085 (EUR 0.09) for 20 years.
An open source database to support investment in solar thermal technologies through improved transparency on costs and heat prices in buildings and industry.